Incentive Checks, Jobless Assistance, and More in the $ 900 Billion Coronavirus Emergency Plan

Congress’ deal on a $ 900 billion coronavirus relief plan includes more help for small businesses, another round of direct payments to Americans, an additional unemployment surcharge, and funding to streamline the distribution of Covid vaccines.

Lawmakers wanted to approve the package Monday, in addition to a $ 1.4 trillion government funding proposal. Much-needed help comes as millions of Americans struggle to pay for food and housing and face the potential for loss of unemployment benefits and eviction protection in the coming days.

Many economists and lawmakers say the measure will help, but won’t go far enough to contain the damage that households and small businesses suffered during the pandemic.

Congress leaders had not yet released the bill Monday morning. Comments from conference leaders and summaries from their offices shed some light on the key provisions of the legislation.

• It would add a federal unemployment insurance benefit of $ 300 a week through mid-March. The plan would also extend the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs, expanding entitlement to unemployment benefits and allowing people to continue to receive payments after their state aid ran out, until mid-March.
• The bill would put $ 284 billion in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, which can be forgiven, and allow hard-hit small businesses to pull a second round of funding. It would include $ 20 billion in grants for businesses in low-income areas and money set aside for loans from community-based and minority lenders.
• The package would send $ 600 direct payments to most Americans – down from the $ 1,200 passed in March as part of the CARES Act. Families also receive $ 600 per child. Individuals who made up to $ 75,000 per year and couples who made up to $ 150,000 in 2019 will receive the full amount. Payments will be phased out until they stop for individuals and couples who have earned $ 99,000 and $ 198,000, respectively. Mixed-status households, in which a family member does not have a Social Security number, also receive benefits, retroactively to the CARES Act.
• The bill would extend the federal deportation moratorium through Jan. 31. It would put $ 25 billion into a rental assistance fund, which state and local governments would allocate to people to use for overdue and future rent or utility payments.
• The plan would invest more than $ 8 billion in the distribution of the two FDA-approved Covid-19 vaccines. It would also set aside $ 20 billion to ensure Americans get the photo for free. It would spend at least $ 20 billion on states testing and tracing contacts.
• During the worst hunger crisis the US has seen in years, the measure would invest $ 13 billion in increasing the benefits of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by 15% and funding food banks, among others.
• The bill would put $ 45 billion into transportation, including at least $ 15 billion for airline payroll, $ 14 billion for transit systems, and $ 10 billion for state highways.
• The legislation would spend $ 82 billion on education, including more than $ 54 billion for public primary schools and nearly $ 23 billion for higher education. Schools need additional resources, such as personal protective equipment, to stay open safely.
• It puts $ 10 billion into childcare.
• The proposal would send $ 15 billion in aid to event venues, movie theaters and cultural museums.
• The measure sets aside $ 7 billion to increase broadband access.
• It would phase out the Federal Reserve’s emergency loans established by the CARES Act by the end of the year and repurpose $ 429 billion in unused funds. A proposal backed by GOP Senator Pat Toomey to prevent the Fed from setting up “similar” programs in the future temporarily provided the final push to put together a bailout package. The parties eventually came to a language where the Fed would not be able to set up identical credit terms.

– NBC News contributed to this report

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